An alert reader brought our attention today to a Daily Record article that we’d missed on Friday, reporting how a Glasgow student had launched a petition bitterly attacking the Scottish Government over cuts to college places.
Despite having attracted only 500 signatures (and only 400 more in the following five days despite the Record helpfully linking to it), the petition was deemed newsworthy enough for a hefty polemic in which petition author Eunis Jassemi pulled no punches, repeatedly lashing the SNP in highly political terms. No counterquote was offered.
Mr Jassemi was described by the Record in the piece as a “business student” and a “former Hutcheson’s Grammar School pupil”, but we can only assume that they must have run out of room before they got to a rather more pertinent item on his CV.
Last night we highlighted the reaction from various right-wing columnists to the SNP’s torpedoing yesterday of Tory attempts to relax the laws on foxhunting in England and Wales. Today the same commentariat has turned its rage to thoughts of revenge, in the form of “English votes for English laws”.
And we’re confused, because we don’t know what this “England” they speak of is.
It seems safe to say that the SNP’s de facto defeat of the fox-torturing lobby today has riled the right-wing commentariat beyond their endurance. Unable to get their way and inflict a prolonged, agonising death on small animals for “sport”, Tory columnists have instead descended howling and bloodthirsty at pack strength on their readers.
As part of their tireless campaign against abuse and threats on the internet, the Mail’s ever-alert reporters will doubtless be wanting to run a major piece on the deputy leader of UKIP calling today on a widely-read website for Nicola Sturgeon to be killed.
No need to thank us for the tip-off, guys. All part of the service.
So this site is thrilled by the announcement from the SNP that they will, after much speculation in the media, vote against (and therefore likely condemn to defeat) the UK government’s plans to relax England’s fox-hunting ban to a point at which it would be de facto repealed entirely.
And not just because foxes are a lot cuter than Tories.
The Scottish Daily Mail today leads with a screaming banner headline announcing in its trademark style that, according to a poll it commissioned with Survation, Scots are massively opposed to any income tax rises when Holyrood eventually gets power over the rates under the new Scotland Bill.
And the reason that’s weird is that we commissioned a poll on the very same thing just days before, and got a dramatically different answer.
Yesterday we listed some of the nastier items from George Osborne’s horrifying 2015 budget that Labour had said they wouldn’t be opposing, including the public-sector payrise freeze, the reduction in the benefit cap and the slashing of child tax credit for families with more than two children.
Our latest Panelbase poll was conducted from 26 June-3 July, before this weekend’s astonishing events involving Greece, which are currently being documented on Twitter under the hashtag #ThisIsACoup.
We’re going to ask the exact same question again in our next one, so we can see if the EU’s actions have caused any significant change in public opinion. It should be pretty interesting either way.
The Flying Iron of Doom on The Tactics Of Suicide: “Historians, help me out here – was it Iran in which the hard-left once sought to attain power by becoming…” Feb 27, 08:43
Cynicus on The Tactics Of Suicide: “Congrats to Hannah Spencer, Victor of Gorton and Denton The English Greens are not as mad as ours here in…” Feb 27, 08:42
Hatey McHateface on The Tactics Of Suicide: “Why would you describe a Green candidate (now MP) who campaigned in Urdu as English? Just curious!” Feb 27, 08:15
Hatey McHateface on The Tactics Of Suicide: “I think we all need to take some time out to reflect today. The country has lost a plumber. She…” Feb 27, 08:09
Bilbo on The Tactics Of Suicide: “I see that the English Greens won in the English by-election yesterday. Everybody is cheering them on as they defeated…” Feb 27, 07:45
Hatey McHateface on The Tactics Of Suicide: “A fascinating insight, Mark. In your legal counsel’s dealings with ScotGov, was it always a foregone conclusion you would serve…” Feb 27, 07:40
Debatable Lands on The Tactics Of Suicide: “The problem isn’t one of policy or ideology, it is a problem of competence and corruption. In both England and…” Feb 27, 07:14
Cynicus on The Tactics Of Suicide: “You can get 1000/1 against Tories, Libdems and others” Feb 27, 01:20
Cynicus on The Tactics Of Suicide: “Latest Gorton and Denton May election betting? Greens: 1/12 Reform: 10/1 Labour. 45/1” Feb 27, 01:05
Young Lochinvar on The Tactics Of Suicide: “Why is BBC news continuing the old canard (while reporting on Willie Clinton @ chez Epstein) that Ghislaine Maxwell is…” Feb 27, 00:55
Cynicus on The Tactics Of Suicide: “Agreed. Provided TACO Trump lives up to his acronym.” Feb 27, 00:54
Young Lochinvar on The Tactics Of Suicide: “RAF sites used by Epstein.. Isn’t Gordon Broon (newly thawed out of cold storage) complaining a little too loudly given…” Feb 27, 00:41
Young Lochinvar on The Tactics Of Suicide: “The above public information message has been brought to you courtesy of the Friends of Is Rye Ale and the…” Feb 27, 00:29
Young Lochinvar on The Tactics Of Suicide: “HMcH You need to remember when talking about “who is subsidising who” that for over 50 years Messr McCrone could…” Feb 27, 00:20
Mark Beggan on The Tactics Of Suicide: “Geri is my alter ego. You can thank the Scottish government for my early release.” Feb 26, 23:26
Andrew on The Tactics Of Suicide: “I couldnt ever bring myself to vote for a unionist party. I’ve too much self respect. Plus every vote for…” Feb 26, 22:57
Jimboagain on The Tactics Of Suicide: “You’ve missed the sectarian element in the Gorton vote. Longsight has long since been a muslim area and what used…” Feb 26, 22:44
Hatey McHateface on The Tactics Of Suicide: “Never mind that. What were the odds of both you and Geri re-appearing within hours of each other after absences…” Feb 26, 22:40
Hatey McHateface on The Tactics Of Suicide: “You missed one, Alf, rule from Brussels. Will that be direct or indirect? What was it last time around? I…” Feb 26, 22:33
Mark Beggan on The Tactics Of Suicide: “If you were given a choice to bet on the future outcome of the following people. Who would you put…” Feb 26, 21:58
Alf Baird on The Tactics Of Suicide: ““You seem to be suggesting that as a result of decolonisation, support for Indy will wither away.” According to postcolonial…” Feb 26, 21:42
Mark Beggan on The Tactics Of Suicide: “Man of experience and wisdom. Uncle Alf knows best.” Feb 26, 21:33
Mark Beggan on The Tactics Of Suicide: “Fascinating stuff. Sharing the voting conundrum you find yourself in. You should consider voting for the Legalise Cannabis Party. At…” Feb 26, 21:26
Hatey McHateface on The Tactics Of Suicide: “How can you call it English gold when it’s Scotland which is subsidising England to the tune of £150 billion…” Feb 26, 21:12
Hatey McHateface on When the law breaks the law: “Hands up everybody who, when they read x writing about “England’s largest beaver enclosure”, thought he meant an enclosure to…” Feb 26, 21:06
Hatey McHateface on The Tactics Of Suicide: ““That’s even if elections take place at all. They’re becoming desperate & reverting back to type” Too late, Geri, they’ve…” Feb 26, 20:58
Young Lochinvar on When the law breaks the law: “AX Sounds a bit like you have beaver fever 🙂” Feb 26, 20:45
Ross on The Tactics Of Suicide: “But your idea is to make snp voters believe instead of potentially wasting their vote, they should actively vote unionist.…” Feb 26, 20:34
